Aryna Sabalenka

Sabalenka began her career later than most on the ITF Junior Circuit, having debuted earlier on the Tennis Europe U14 and U16 tournaments. With her countrywoman Vera Lapko as her partner, she captured her first ITF doubles championship at the Grade-5 Alatan Tour Cup in Belarus in late 2013. 2014 saw her succeed in Grade 4 competitions. At the Estonian Junior Open in June, she made it to her maiden singles final, and at Finland’s MTV Total Junior Cup in October, she took home the victory. At the end of the year, Sabalenka won both the singles and doubles Alatan Tour Cup titles, this time teaming up with fellow countrywoman Nika Shytkouskaya.

After her Fed Cup performance with Sasnovich, Sabalenka tasted real success at the 2018 Connecticut Open, beating Carla Suarez Navarro in the final to win her first WTA singles title. That year, she also won the Wuhan Open title in China where she defeated Anett Kontaveit in the final. That was a Premier 5 title and at the time, the biggest win of Sabalenka’s fledgling career. The Belarusian started 2019 with a bang as she emerged victorious in the Shenzen Open, one of the first WTA competitions of the year. Sabalenka then went on to defend her Wuhan Open crown and followed it up with success at the WTA Elite trophy. 2019 was the year that saw the Belarusian make he debut into the WTA top 10 rankings. Alongside Elise Mertens, she was also ranked second in the world in the doubles category thanks to the pair’s unforgettable Sunshine Double success, winning the Miami Open and the Indian Wells Masters in the same year.

When it comes to successful years, Sabalenka’s most successful one was undoubtedly 2020. The Belarusian, who had become a superstar in her country by now, not only won three titles, but also finished the season in the top 10 for the first time in her career. Sabalenka’s success started at the Qatar Open, where she dominantly dispatched Petra Kvitova in the final to win her first of the year. She then won the Ostrava Open after beating Victoria Azarenka in the final, followed by a Linz Open triumph. The last one was a bit emotional for Sabalenka as she had to go up against her long-time teammate Elise Mertens in the final.

2021 saw Sabalenka win her biggest title yet as she reigned supreme in the WTA 1000 competition, the Madrid Open. The Belarusian managed to record an exceptional win over Ashleigh Barty in the final by a score of 6-0, 3-6, 6-4. Earlier that year, she had managed to win the Abu Dhabi Open after beating Veronika Kudermetova in the final. At the Canadian Open in Montreal, Sabalenka carried on with her season. Although she advanced to the semifinals, Karolna Pliskova defeated her in straight sets. Later, she was defeated by Paula Badosa in the Cincinnati Open’s opening round. Sabalenka achieved a career-high rating of No. 2 despite the defeat. That year, she also reached achieved the world number one ranking with Elise Mertens.